The British Association for the Advancement of Science warns that the researchassessment exercise does not recognise the importance of the publiccommunication of science ("Scientists want time to talk", September 9).Experience in the mathematics faculty at Bangor was that the Teaching QualityAssessment did not recognise it either.

This is a kind of travesty. Exploration, exposition and communication have forcenturies been recognised as essential to the progress of science.

Where would we be without Euclid's marvellous compilation of the geometry of hisday? Galileo, Faraday, Poincare, Klein, Hilbert, Einstein, Hoyle and Feynmanhave all made public communication, and often disagreement with authority, animportant part of their work.

Our aim for the popularisation of mathematics has been, to modify ScienceMinister Lord Sainsbury's words in the same issue of The Times Higher, to showthe public, students and the Government not only the important role thatmathematics plays in society, but also how it evolves.

Mathematics progresses partly through the solution of problems, but also throughclarification and good exposition, providing a developing language fordescription, verification, deduction and calculation. It makes the difficulteasy. It works over a long timescale. It shows new possibilities through gradualconceptual advance. It formulates new problems.

So mathematics is a foundation of the modern technological society. It is aconsiderable challenge to try to show advanced mathematics from an elementaryviewpoint.

Some results of our work in popularisation of mathematics at Bangor over thepast 20 years may be seen on our website www.popmath.org.uk. We have had strongsupport from, among others, the patrons of the sculptor John Robinson, forpromoting his Symbolic Sculptures.

An unplanned consequence has been sculptures by Robinson at, for example,Bangor, Cambridge, Durham and Macquarie universities.

This supports the aim of associating mathematics and science with art, anddemonstrates art as a mode of symbolising an idea.

Work in communicating to children and the general public ideas in mathematicshas helped us to analyse and express our programme, to communicate mathematicalconcepts to fellow scientists and students, and so to interdisciplinarycollaboration.

For the future of the UK, the public communication of science and mathematicsshould be supported financially and in career structure, and be part of theassessment of the success of a university and of the vitality of research andteaching teams.

Ronnie Brown Emeritus professor of mathematics University of Wales, Bangor